Louisiana Saves the Library

November 15, 2015
Budget cuts and the prevalent feeling that libraries are no longer relevant plague Louise and her best friend, Sylvia. First, they lose their prestigious positions as professors of library science at Louisiana A&M. Then the only jobs they can find are as lowly, all-purpose staff members at Alligator Bayou Parish's bare-bones library, where there are no multimedia resources or outreach programs, and the concept of interlibrary loan might as well be straight out of science fiction. Faced with a board president who wants the library shuttered because, hey, everyone has the Internet, right? and Barnes & Noble is only two towns away, Louise and Sylvia scramble to shore up support to keep the library open. Book groups, Zumba lessons, and even cooking classes may not be enough to protect this essential town resource, and the two intrepid librarians are soon rallying all available means to thwart their enemies and save their jobs. Readers who enjoy rooting for the underdog will ardently cheer on Cogburn's plucky, courageous library heroines.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)